Mixed reactions in Lagos after US strikes in northwestern Nigeria

Lagos residents, far from the troubled north, expressed a range of emotions in response to the US’ move to launch strikes against an IS group in northwestern Nigeria.

Some locals were in support of the US president’s actions.

“If another country is coming with the aim of creating stability or peace in Nigeria, why shouldn’t we be in support? I am in support of that,” said Emmanuel Udoh, a reverend, as he paused near a taxi stand.

Lagos resident Dominic Dioju echoed these sentiments, calling the strike a “welcome development”.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US launched a “powerful and deadly" strike against Islamic State forces, after spending weeks accusing the West African country's government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.

In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes.

Shuaib Yusuf, another Lagos resident, said he was against the strikes.

“The current issue we have in Nigeria is not a religious crisis. It is a problem of personal kidnapping and bandits, other groups, trying to destroy the country itself,” he said, adding that Nigeria can handle this issue itself.

Bulama Bukarti, a human rights lawyer and conflict analyst, said the Nigerian government stands to lose support if they cannot confirm if these strikes, done with their cooperation, were successful.

He said so far, neither the US or Nigeria has provided any evidence that they were, with the limited information available showing strikes in two locations, hitting hotels in one and an onion farm in another.

But, he said, most Nigerians would welcome US cooperation if it was successful.

“For the ordinary Nigerians, this is a matter of life and death. And any effort, any effort that can help towards addressing the insecurity that has been bedeviling Nigeria over the last decade or so, will be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Nigerians. But that effort has to be intelligence driven, it has to be precise, and it has to succeed,” he told the Associated Press.